Gordon the Great
by bbll22
Summary: *CHAPTER 2 NOW UP* Gordon the big blue engine believes he is simply Sodor's greatest engine ever. He hopes to prove to everyone how great he is, but these stories may disprove that somewhat. Please review!
1. Gordon and the Prized Pumpkin

Lee's Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

Stories

**Gordon and the Prized Pumpkin**

It was autumn on the Island of Sodor and the Annual Giant Vegetable Competition had arrived once again. All entrants were on their last weeks' worth of preparations while the organiser of the event, Lady Hatt set up the look and feel for the competition with her wonderful taste in design.  
"This will be the best Giant Vegetable Competition Yet!" proudly boasted Lady Hatt to her Husband.  
"Ofcourse dear..." he replied as he didn't want to cause offense. He was just about to leave the house when all of a sudden, Lady Hatt said.  
"Gordon will be pulling the Vegetable Train on the day dear!" she said in a triumphant tone.  
"You're kidding...aren't you?" replied the Fat Controller  
"Ofcourse not! My decision is final!" she retorted. The Fat Controller then left the house and made his way to work, but on the way, he couldn't help think about Gordon and a duty he'd definitely not want to do...

A thunderous roar was on the tracks as Gordon pulled into Knapford Station in record time. He knew he was early, so it gave him a good reason to be his normal, boastful self. However, none of the other engines at the station were in the mood to hear Gordon's boasting, so they promptly left as quickly as they could.  
"Oh..." commented Gordon "Obviously they're as busy as me!" he then added. He chuckled to himself as a result of this. He had a good while to wait until his next train was due to set off, so he just reminisced about other previous great events in his life. As he was doing this, he noticed in the distance that the Fat Controller had arrived at the platform and was standing, arms folded.  
"Gordon!" he bellowed. Gordon promptly stopped reminiscing and looked straight back at the Fat Controller.  
"Yes, Sir..." he replied with apprehension.  
"Gordon, ahead of next week's Giant Vegetable Competition, my wife Jane, has told me to inform you that you will be the engine who will pull the Vegetable train." stated the Fat Controller  
"The Vegetable train!" questioned Gordon "Surely there's been a mistake?"  
"No, not at all. I hope you enjoy your duty! Goodbye!" replied the Fat Controller, he then quickly made his way to his car and went back to office. Gordon was left bemused with the duty that isn't normally given to the important engines like him.

The days soon passed as then the big day arrived. Everyone that was helping out on the day turned out as smartly as possible when they arrived at the station to drop off their giant vegetable onto the vegetable train for Gordon to take to the Old Tea Rooms where Lady Hatt had finally decided the competition should be held at. The great and good of Sodor turned up to hand over their over-sized vegetable to one of the porters who would safely secure it in one of the carriages. The Duke and Duchess of Boxford had grown a giant Marrow each, Mrs. Kyndley had grown one massive Tomato, Jeremiah Jobling had grown a massive Carrot and Miss Thripp, one of the local Bowles players had grown a very, very big Pumpkin. She advised Gordon's driver to take extra care on the journey so that damage wouldn't be caused, but as it was Gordon, he ignored that. The train tracks rattled as sped along the line without a care in the world.  
"Pah! Vegetable train! I'll show them what it's worth!" he muttered to himself.  
"Calm down Gordon!" called his driver "You don't want Lady Hatt angry at you!" Gordon promptly calmed down, he didn't want Lady Hatt angry at him, no-one would as when she was angry, everyone knew. Gordon then kept quiet for the rest of the journey. He soon arrived at the Old Tea Rooms and was greeted by Lady Hatt in a very smart green dress.  
"Oh good..." she remarked "Gordon, I thank you..." she then continued.  
"Thankyou your Lady-ness" said Gordon, although he wasn't quite sure how to respond.  
"You're very funny Gordon!" replied Lady Hatt. She then left to sort out some last-moment rearrangements and left some helpers to collect the vegetables, but Gordon was bemused.  
"I wasn't trying to be funny!" he said to his driver.  
"Oh well" he replied "Atleast she's not angry at you!" he then said. Gordon agreed, he then looked on at the various stands with which giant vegetables stood upon. Lady Hatt then wondered around the stalls, with a clipboard in hand making notes, she was the judge of the competition, and she wouldn't be ever so nice as the competition got under way.

Gordon was still where he had stopped as he'd been told to stay there by Lady Hatt. His driver agreed as he didn't want to get on the wrong side of Lady Hatt. Meanwhile, the competition was in full-swing, the Fat Controller had even entered with a giant Cabbage, but Lady Hatt wasn't impressed.  
"Could do better, Topham!" she remarked. This left the Fat Controller stunned. She was like this for near enough all of the contestants and then were left either stunned or upset with the comments she left. Lady Hatt even gave out the Rosette for the 'Most Wonky Vegetable on Display' to the Duke's Marrow inspite of the fact that it wasn't wonky.  
"She's not being very nice is she?" remarked Mrs. Kyndley to Miss Thripp.  
"No..." replied Miss Thripp "But she's still got to see ours yet!" Lady Hatt then made her way over to them and immediately criticised Mrs. Kyndley's Tomato.  
"It's not big enough!" remarked Lady Hatt. Mrs. Kyndley was stunned; she was left in a state of silence. Miss Thripp was now a little concerned for her Pumpkin, but she would be surprised with what Lady Hatt would say.  
"Wow Miss Thripp, wow! Infact, I believe this is the biggest vegetable I've seen all day, and it looks like it will be the biggest, so therefore, I declare you, Miss Thripp, the winner of the Sodor Giant Vegetable Rosette!" Miss Thripp was shocked, but for good reasons. Applause then rang out in appreciation of Miss Thripp as she was given her rosette. Gordon looked on, and smiled with delight.  
"I helped deliver that winning vegetable!" he boasted to his driver. His driver didn't respond, he just left him to carry on boasting.

The competition then came to an end, and the contestants and guests made their way home, but as Miss Thripp was leaving the entrance to the Tea Rooms, she tripped on a loose pathing slab. As she tripped, her prize-winning Pumpkin fell out of her grasp and flew in the air. Everyone looked on with stunned faces as the pumpkin made its way for Gordon.  
"Oh no! My pumpkin!" cried Miss Thripp  
"OH NO!" cried Gordon as the pumpkin got closer to his face, and then there was a problem. SPLAT went the pumpkin right in Gordon's face. Some people were left stunned like Lady Hatt, but for the majority of people, they just laughed at Gordon. Even his driver and fireman laughed at the predicament.  
"How undignified!" remarked Gordon as the remains of the pumpkin slowly drooped from his face. Miss Thripp was sad to see her pumpkin gone, but atleast she still has the rosette, but she felt sorry for Gordon as he'd have to make his way to Tidmouth Sheds with the pumpkin residue on his face as there was no water tower nearby. Gordon didn't like this at all, on the way back to the sheds he saw many people who all looked at him with bemused faces. One boy said to his mother.  
"Mother, why is that engines face orange and his body blue?" His mother chuckled to herself as Gordon passed by, he was very embarrassed and wouldn't be able to live it down, but everywhere he went, all he could see was orange. As it was autumn, the trees leaves were orange, the sun was setting and made the sky look orange. He passed Lord Callan and Miss Jenny on the way home who both had very orange hair, and they looked at him very oddly.  
"That canny be Gordon can it?" Lord Callan said bemused.  
"Tis a weird looking engine for sure…" Miss Jenny remarked. Gordon just felt totally embarrassed and completely undignified. When he arrived back at Tidmouth sheds, he saw Murdoch there at the sheds. His orange paint gleamed, and Gordon didn't think it would be right to be there in view of him when he looked like he did. Soon enough, he was washed down and could relax again, but as Murdoch was in his space at Tidmouth sheds, Gordon had to go to the sheds where Harvey and Salty were. Gordon was fine with Harvey, it was just Salty's long-winded stories that got on his nerves, as did his incessant singing, so as night drew in, Gordon was in the shed, eyes awake as Salty sang some sea-shanties, much to Gordon's displeasure.  
"Oh dear…." Gordon sighed. "When will the indignity end?"


	2. The Sodor Spaceman

Lee's Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

Stories

**The Sodor Spaceman**

It was the early hours of the morning and Gordon was returning to Knapford station with his Express carriages all empty. His duty was now done and he was glad. Frost was beginning to set in around on the ground and a chill was setting in. Mist was coming in too and in the little light, Gordon was beginning to get a little hazy. Soon though, he arrived back at the station and soon set off to his shed to relax.

The following night, Gordon was once more on late night Express duty and was very happy with it indeed. As he passed through several stations, engines just looked on and smiled knowing that the late night Express is a very important job.  
"If only I was pulling that…" Henry chuffed to himself.  
"You're not important enough!" Gordon joked as he steamed into the distance.  
"I wouldn't agree…" Henry smiled as workmen boarded his carriages before he set off. Gordon meanwhile was speeding along the line without a care in the world. His light beamed along the track and his wheels went clickety-clack very loudly. His passengers were feeling sleepy but Gordon made sure they weren't going to miss their stop with the noise he was making. Gordon just felt amazing and proud of how he always took the late night Express and hoped this would never end. Mist and fog were beginning to set all around though and Gordon had to slow though.  
"Safety first…" reminded his driver. "We don't want a midnight smash!"  
"If you insist…" Gordon grumbled. Soon, he arrived at Maron Station where he proudly came to a halt. Thomas was there waiting too with some mail carriages. Gordon didn't want to acknowledge Thomas, but Thomas wanted to acknowledge Gordon.  
"Are you heading out towards the forests?" Thomas asked inquisitively.  
"Yes, of course. I always go that route." Gordon replied dismissively.  
"Well, be careful out there." Thomas warned.  
"Why? Are the trees going to eat me?" Gordon asked sarcastically. He wasn't in the mood for any of this but he could see Thomas looked visibly concerned. His driver and fireman looked on edge aswell and this made Gordon feel confused.  
"Something's out there - near the forests." Thomas said nervously.  
"We heard heavy footsteps and a mechanical breathing…" his driver added. Gordon didn't speak after just looked on indignantly before he set off. As he carried on with the Express towards the forest, the mist and fog got even thicker and a faint mechanical breathing could be heard somewhere out in the dark.  
"Pah!" huffed Gordon. "Only tank engines like Thomas would be scared of something like footsteps. They can't scare me!" but as Gordon carried on, the footsteps grew louder and louder…

As the Express clattered along the tracks at pace, Gordon was feeling as chipper as usual. He didn't think about the suspicious footsteps and heavy mechanical breathing near the forests that Thomas had mentioned. Gordon passed by there every night and hadn't noticed anything unusual before. In the day, he'd heard from Edward and James that there was plenty of activity around with lorries and vans constantly zooming around with members of Miss Jenny's Pack also being seen from time to time, but at night there was nothing of that level of activity. There were the trees, the stars in the sky, the moon and lights along the way, but there were no signs of anything major. Gordon was just confused.  
"If there's something out there it's far too quiet around…" Gordon muttered to himself. "Thomas and his crew are obviously hearing things." he continued as the fog deepened. The roads next to the track were just as quiet and Gordon felt all alone. His passengers were all asleep now and as the night rolled on and his driver and fireman began to feel tired too. They were suddenly stirred by the chugging of Dennis who was taking a load of troublesome trucks who were humming loudly. Some then began to whistle and Gordon was thankful of the break in the quiet. Issues with the fog though were getting more troubling as it got even thicker. Soon, Gordon slowed down to a near complete stop. Gordon's wheels weren't used to going so slow and then he could hear some heavy clunking footsteps in the distance.  
"What was that?" Gordon's fireman wondered.  
"Just animals…" the driver shrugged. Gordon wasn't convinced. With his headlamp in the thick fog, he couldn't make out much but he could see big heavy boot prints on the ground.  
"Something's here…" Gordon said worriedly. His concerns grew even stronger as the footsteps in the distance got even louder and nearer. With that, Gordon and his crew could hear the deep heavy mechanical breathing too. Gordon was now at a complete stop due to the fog and he was just on edge. The footsteps and heavy breathing soon got louder and louder and nearer and nearer and Gordon didn't like this at all. His concerns grew further with each moment and then with each new footstep and heavy breath, something silver looking appeared through the thick fog. Something was most definitely here.  
"Oh my word…" Gordon's fireman said.  
"That's impossible…" added the driver.  
"It's….it's…it's a Spaceman!" Gordon shivered as there before him was a spaceman in a silver suit heading right towards him. One arm outstretched and with no emotion at all, the spaceman just got nearer and nearer to Gordon. "Thomas was right!" Gordon continued. "He's come to get us!" he yelled as soon he set off at pace towards Tidmouth station. Gordon didn't care that it was dangerous in the thick fog as he was scared. As he left in a cloud of smoke the Spaceman watched closely and then disappeared into the night as if it was never there.

Gordon soon hurriedly arrived at Tidmouth hoping the spaceman hadn't followed him and thankfully it hadn't. The fog and mist thankfully weren't around near Tidmouth either and Gordon felt much better but then as his passengers disembarked after the porter stirred them from their slumber, he was sure he could see the spaceman walking around on the platform.  
"Stay away!" Gordon cried. "Stay away from me you fiend!" The stationmaster soon caught wind of Gordon's cries and asked what was happening. Gordon's crew were just as scared but managed to explain and the stationmaster could only laugh.  
"What's so funny?" Gordon's driver asked.  
"This!" boomed a voice in the distance as from nowhere came the other spaceman Gordon had just seen at the station. The spaceman soon lifted off their helmet though and there was the Fat Controller!  
"Sir?" Gordon said utterly perplexed.  
"Spacemen are extremely useful Gordon…" boomed the Fat Controller. "Especially the one out by the forest. He's helping promote our new Space and Science Activity Centre."  
"So why are you dressed like a spaceman then?" Gordon asked. "It can be quite scary in certain circumstances."  
"Oh, I just like the suit. Don't think the wife does though…" he smiled. Gordon eventually smiled too but it was a nervous smile.  
"So I was scared of nothing?" Gordon asked exasperatedly.  
"Yes…" the Fat Controller said simply. "But you are still very useful Gordon. Scared, but useful." he added as he then departed to his car. Gordon still felt silly for being scared of a man in a suit promoting an activity centre. He felt undignified but could only smile as the spaceman wouldn't cause any harm atleast. Thomas was right that something was out by the forest, but Gordon could not simply admit to that. He had his pride at stake, but that had been damaged by the night's events.  
"I just hope no-one else finds out…" Gordon muttered to himself as he headed off to sleep at Tidmouth sheds.

Thankfully for Gordon no-one did find out as the Fat Controller promised not to tell. From now on, when Gordon passes through the forest at night with the Express in tow, he just smiles whenever he sees the spaceman as he knows he's only there doing his job. Gordon knows doing your job well is important but knows scaring people in the process isn't necessarily the right thing to do though.


End file.
